Characters
Characters in Blade of the Immortal(List) Main characters: *Manji The Immortal that the series title, Mugen no Junin("Inhabitant of Infinity"), refers to. He is usually quite laid back and is often sleeping. Because of his obvious advantage of immortality, his swordwork is sometimes quite mediocre and many of the fights he partakes in often end with him being gravely wounded. *Rin Asano The last heir to her father's sword school, the Mutenichi-ryū. She holds a vendetta against her parents' killers, the Ittō-ryū. At the start of the series, she is still quite childish, but steadily "grows up" over the course of the manga, especially when it comes to saving Manji. Early on in the series, there are instances where she is shown as being confused about what she really wants, and what her morals are, for example, in Cry of the Worm, she tells Manji about the foreign sword taken as a spoil from the Mutenichi-ryū dojo the night her parents were killed, only to perform a U-turn and decide to give up on the sword and any other Ittō-ryū member but Anotsu Kagehisa. However, by Dreamsong, Rin is shown as being armed with the sword, wearing it from her shoulder in a tōju. Over the course of On Silent Wings and On Silent Wings II, she struggles with the notion of killing merely for revenge, especially after meeting Ittō-ryū member Araya Kawakami as well as his son, Renzo Kawakami. Secondary/Supporting/minor characters: *Machi Saito Deceased sister of Manji. She became insane after Manji killed her husband out of self-defense, and was also murdered herself(by Shido Hashiyasu) because of Manji. *Yaobikuni An 800-year old nun that has only appeared in issues #1 & #2. She is immortal due to the Kessen-chū, and has since fed them to Manji(and, it is implied, Shizuma Eiku.) *Gyobutsū "Johnny" A bounty hunter diguised as a christian priest who has, according to himself, been ambushing and killing people for ten years. The last person he ambushed was Manji, who killed him. *Shido Hishiyasu The brother of Gyobutsū "Johnny" and deputy leader of the Shinsen-gumi, a ronin gang. He is killed by Manji along with 20 other gang members. *Souri A painter (and ninja) who often practises "swordpainting," a technique by which a paintbrush is attached to a sword. This greatly annoys his daughter, Tatsubō. He is also later seen to be painting with blood. Despite being a fairly minor character, he has notable relationships with many of the main characters, such as Magatsu and Hyakurin. Recently, he has been shown teaching Meguro and Tanpopo art skills. *Tatsubō The daughter of Sōri. She often gets angry at her father's messy painting style, as this often results in both of them being evicted from where they are staying. Recently married. *O-yō A woman that briefly appears twice in Volume 1, Blood of a Thousand. ''She is presumably the Innkeeper of the Inn where Manji, Machi and Yoabikuni have settled in at the start of the series. *Saitō Tatsumasa The former husband of Machi. He was a policeman as well as a samurai. One night while walking home with Machi, they witness a disturbance nearby and Saitō leaves Machi to go home on her own while he deals with the reason for the disturbance; Manji. He ends up being killed by Manji out of self-defense. *Kurose Asano Rin's father. He is the son of Takayuki Asano, who is Rin's grandfather. He is often referred to as "Takayoshi" by his father, Takayuki. He was killed by Kuroi Sabato. *O-Toki Rin's mother. Before being kidnapped and eventually killed by the Ittō-ryū, she was the victim of a grisly rape led by Araya Kawakami. *Saburo Anotsu Kagehisa Anotsu's grandfather. He was originally a student of Mutenichi-ryū, but ended up being expelled for using a foreign sword. *Takayuki Asano Grandfather of Rin. Along with Saburo Anotsu, he fought off attackers when the two men and the (then) master of Mutenichi-ryū were surrounded by bandits. *Lord Makiyuri A local ''daimyō ''that appears only once; in Volume 4, ''On Silent Wings. When he is about to maim or perhaps even kill Renzo Kawakami, Rin steps in and convinces him that Renzo is under her care. *O-hatsu A fellow geisha to Makie that appears only in Volume 3, Dreamsong. She seems to have a friendly relationship with Makie, and the two have one thing in common with each other; they used to be prostitutes. *Haya A prostitute working at the Ittō-ryū's favoured brothel, Yukimachi. She appears three times throughout the series and two of those times, is shown as being angry at the Ittō-ryū, firstly at Magatsu(she believes it was his fault that O-ren was murdered) and secondly at the Ittō-ryū in general for using prostitutes from Yukimachi as bait, as one of them, O-sei, who ended up so mutilated she could no longer work as a prostitute, hung herself as a result. She was also used as bait(issue #42, Heart of Darkness part 8) but came back unscathed. Her most distinguishing feature is that she has freckles. *O-ren A young Yukimachi prostitute who was in love with Magatsu. Killed by Shira. *Chōkichi The owner of a shop that Hyakurin often visits, buying food and sake. ''He is mentioned quite a few times, but only really appears once. *O-sei The Yukimachi prostitute hired as bait. She lured Shira and Rin out onto a main road until two Ittō-ryū members showed up, who were quickly dealt with by Shira. Shira then proceeded to mutilate her before attempting to rape her, but was stopped by Rin and Manji. She survived this attack, but hung herself afterwards. *Hayakawa Kakōsai Genkei The former husband of Hyakurin. He was an abusive samurai and every child he bore, from both his previous wife and Hyakurin, were weak and sickly. He desparately wanted an heir and thought he could find it in Matsuhiko, but unfortunately Matsuhiko was also weak and sickly. He was killed by Hyakurin. *Matsuhiko One of a pair of twins, parented by Genkei and Hyakurin. His twin sister was killed by their father with the excuse that he had no time to raise girls. Matsuhiko is a sickly child, weak, and perhaps even slightly effeminate-looking. Eventually killed by Genkei. *Sōhachi Nakaya The Innkeeper that eventually agrees to accompany Rin through customs so that she can travel to Kaga. *Sato Nakaya Wife of Nakaya. She also reluctantly agrees to help Rin get through customs, even hatching an idea to increase her chances. *Yoshiaki Harukawa The father of Makie Otono-Tachibana. He ended up disowning both his wife and daughter after realising that Makie had inherited the family's fighting ability instead of his son, also referred to as "Yoshiaki." *Komae Harukawa Makie Otono-Tachibana 's grandmother, the sister of Saburo Anotsu and the great aunt of Kagehisa Anotsu. *Fuki Makie's mother. After being disowned, she became a prostitute to support her daughter Makie and herself. *O-kane The head mistress of Yukimachi. After the events of Volumes 6 to 14, O-kane tells Sosuke Abayama and the Ittō-ryū in general to stay away from the brothel, even as mere customers. *O-kei The servant who takes care of Dewanosuke during the short period of time that he's in Kodenma prison. (Issue #113.) *Tōjirō Giichi's sickly son. He is only mentioned and never seen, and dies around the time of Volume 14. *O-mitsu Dewanosuke's wife. He mentions her while talking in his sleep. (Issue #113.) *Osaki Burando's love interest. She is mentioned in a flashback and tried in an epidemic along with Burando's mother. (Issue #111) *Gotō A fellow doctor that Burando studied under in the past. Seen in a flashback. (Issue #111.) *Kurifu A prisoner who is brought in to Manji's cell to replace a deceased Dewanosuke. (Issue #115.) *Kōnokura The third felon to be experimented on after Kurifu's swift death. (Issue #116.) *Kunimatsu The fourth felon. *Korewasai The fifth felon. After his death, the names of the felons experimented on cease to be mentioned. *Nakizō Appears twice in the series. He is the head of a group of policemen and has a run-in with Dōa and Isaku both times he appears. *Mori A doctor who appears a few times during the prison arc. He knows Kashin Koji and they have been seen eating together along with doctor Kure. He has also been seen mocking Burando when he had been temporarily banned from continuing his research. *Kure Another doctor, who is always seen with doctor Mori. He is not as hot-headed as doctor Mori. *Kentarō The son of Habaki Kagimura and his current wife, Shima. He first appears(along with Shima) in Issue #122. *Karukozawa An Edo castle guard, though he mainly guards Manji's cell in the dungeons. He appears to be friendly with Toraemon. (Issue #115.) *Sakura A dungeon guard that traps Rin, Dōa and Nanda-rō early on. He ends up extracting punishment on Rin, in the form of ''tataki. '' *Nandarō A beggar that first appears in issue #124, wearing Isaku's armguards. Rin and Dōa force him to infiltrate Edo castle with them so that they can have some idea about which ways to go within the dungeons. *Shima Habaki's wife. She first appears with Kentarō in issue #122. Later supporting characters: *Ayame Burando One of the doctors working under Habaki to research and experiment with (Manji's)immortality. He is eccentric and often has conflicting thoughts about human lives. Implied to be much younger than Mozen and Toraemon. *Toraemon A servant and guard under Habaki. He is often seen carrying the doctors' equipment and performing small tasks such as taking Manji's blood and cutting into him to demonstrate his immortality. *Yamada Asaemon Yoshirō A famous executioner. Also called "Kubikiri Asa." He is skilled in severing limbs efficiently. Habaki employs him to sever Manji(and various felon's)'s limbs down in the prison. *Benki Asaemon's loyal bodyguard. Stood with Asaemon, the two can be compared to Dōa and Isaku; Benki is quite large and well-built while Asaemon himself is smaller and has a lighter frame. *Dewanosuke The first felon to be tested on. Of all the felons tested on, he lived the longest. Killed by Habaki in order to test his immortality. *Mozen The first ever doctor Habaki orders to experiment on Manji to reveal everything about his immortality. Both him and Burando are given eight days, with himself starting first. When his eight days are up, he is fired and doesn't appear again. *Renzo Kawakami The son of Araya Kawakami. He first appears in ''On Silent Wings ''part 1. Both literally and figuratively, he is Shira's hand, often having to feed and clean him. Ittō-ryū members: *Kagehisa Anotsu The twenty-two-year-old leader of the Ittō-ryū. He is often quite cold emotionally, though he lets Rin live even after she attacks him. His main goal is to lead a sword school with superior skills only, one that "holds their stupid "virtue" in contempt" *Magatsu Taito A close friend of Anotsu and the witness to his younger sister's traumatic death. Due to this, he is extra protective of young women, even going out of his way to avenge the prostitute O-ren's needless death. *Makie Otono-Tachibana An on-off Ittō-ryū member and the first female Ittō-ryū to appear. She is Anotsu's skilled but troubled cousin. *Sosuke Abayama A sixty-year old swordsman and second-in-command of the Ittō-ryū. Though he appears much earlier in the series, he is never seen in combat until issue 103; ''Pity. *Kuroi Sabato The first Ittō-ryū member to be killed by Manji. He appreciates feminine beauty to the disturbing point of having his own wife(and later, Rin's own mother) preserved using taxidermy and sown onto his shoulder. *Eiku Shizuma The first immortal antagonist to appear in the series. He was given the worms two-hundred years prior to the series and carries with him the only known poison that can stop them regenerating; the kessen-satsu("Bloodworm killer"). *Araya Kawakami Father of Renzo Kawakami. He is a skilled mask-maker who, two years ago, led the rape of Rin's mother. *Dōa Yoshino A small but incredibly fast and skilled Ittō-ryū fighter. However, her ever-present readiness to fight and kill often lands her and Isaku in trouble. *Isaku Yasonokami Often seen with Dōa. He is originally a portuguese christian, and he and Dōa are from Hokkaidō. He cannot kill people and only acts as the defense in fights, while Dōa acts as the offense. *Koji Kashin An elderly doctor and spy for the Ittō-ryū. He has been making maps of Edō castle which, unintentionally, come in useful for Rin and Dōa. *Ozuhan Arguably the most mysterious of all Ittō-ryū. It is unknown whether or not he is even Japanese. He appears to be deaf, although he seems to understand when people are talking to him. He has a whistle which he uses to disturb the enemy. *Sukezane Baro One of the ten core members of the Ittō-ryū. His most distinguishing feature is that he has a scar across the nose, which makes him look like Manji. Though he is seen relatively early in the series, he is not properly introduced until much later. Other Ittō-ryū: *Hage/Tsuchimoti Nisaborou The first minor Ittō-ryū character to be introduced. Though he is often referred to by fans as "Hage," the Wikipedia.jp article for Blade of the Immortal names him as "Tsuchimoti Nisaborou." He appears in Genius and wields a foldable spear called Aun. His most distinguishing feature is his aquiline nose. Killed by Souri. *Iwami Ginzan A herbalist as well as Ittō-ryū member. His most distinguishing feature is a huge scar on his forehead. Killed by Shira. *Saikaya A doctor as well as a member of the Ittō-ryū. Killed by Shira. *Morozumi Chōgo A rather fat Ittō-ryū member who uses a pair of katana. Killed by Giichi. *Sumino Kenei An Ittō-ryū member with an impressive arsenal of six tantō and one katana. Killed by Hyakurin. *Higa An Ittō-ryū member fascinated by Manji's immortality. He wanted to ingest Manji's flesh or eat his heart in an attempt to steal his immortality, but was poisoned by Hyakurin and later beheaded by Shinriji. *Hanada A long-haired Ittō-ryū member whose most distinguishing feature is his mismatched shades; a reference to DC/Vertigo character Spider Jerusalem. Killed by Manji *Uruma An Ittō-ryū member who wields a large machete-like weapon. Killed by Manji. *Kinuka A large well-built Ittō-ryū swordsman. He is quite composed in comparison to Tamasaki. Killed by Giichi. *Tamasaki An Ittō-ryū swordsman that thinks of nothing but revenge on Hyakurin after he lost his eye and the feeling in two of his fingers due to her poison. Killed eventually by Hyakurin. *Kurishige Wayan An Ittō-ryū fighter that lost his father and right eye to a bear attack when he was younger. He often integrates his experience of fighting bears into his swordwork. Killed by Manji. *Fujiaki Kasori A swordsman that looks similar to Wayan. Killed by Giichi. Mugai-ryū members: *Kagimura Habaki The secret and part-time leader of the Mugai-ryu and the full-time head of the Bangashira, the Shogun's Banshu Samurai. He is the mastermind behind the massacre of ten Itto-ryu members at a set-up banquet, and the manager of the even graver "Immortality experiments" held in the dungeons under Edo castle. Though never seen fighting, he is rumoured to be skilled with a sword. *Hyakurin The former wife of an abusive samurai, Hyakurin killed her husband as retribution for the slaughter of their son, Matsuhiko, and the earlier killing of his nameless twin sister. She also compusively bleaches her hair to remove bloodstains, presumably because bloodstained hair reminds her of her traumatic past as a samurai's wife. *Shira Possibly the series' worst villian, Shira is a sadistic pychopath who delights only in rape, torture and murder. After his arm is cut off by Manji, he stops at nothing to try and get revenge, his vendetta against Manji bordering on obsession. He has recently been shown travelling with Renzo. *Giichi A "strong-silent"-type character who is often seen wearing black shades. He has quite a collected demeanor and is seemingly never emotional. After his wife died, he devoted himself to taking care of his ill son, Tojiro. *Shinriji A small-framed amateur Mugai-ryu swordsman who is in love with Hyakurin. He has no previous experience with a sword and so always accompanies Hyakurin on missions, until his death in Beasts. *Makoto The mole of the Mugai-ryu, sent into the Itto-ryu as a servant. He is a former prostitute; the only Mugai-ryu member(excluding Habaki) without a criminal conviction. Shingyoto-ryū members: *Kensui Ibane Leader of the Shingyoto-ryu and step-father of Hisoka. He agrees to join forces with the Itto-ryu on the condition that Anotsu marries Hisoka, but as soon as the marriage begins, he is forced by the bafuku to betray Anotsu; attempting to have him killed. *Hisoka Ibane The step-daughter of Kensui. She is frail and sickly, and near-blind from the medication she takes to stay alive. *Iriya A stuttering swordsman of the Shingyoto-ryu and their boldest member, even forcing Anotsu into a duel as soon as he arrives at their dojo. He is in love with Hisoka, though it is unrequited. Attempts hot-blooded revenge on Anotsu for the suicides of Kensui and Hisoka. *Kozue A well-mannered and collected Shingyoto-ryu swordsman. He is incredibly calm and mature in contrast to Iriya. *Tono A swordsman who joins Kozue and Iriya on the Shingyoto-ryu's last attempt at revenge on Anotsu. *Taki Swordsman who joins in the hunt and attempted revenge against Anotsu. *Harurō A younger Shingyoto-ryu member and servant, he is the only member spared when Anotsu and Rin fight four Shingyoto-ryu members on the road. Rokki-dan members: *Haiyabo The first member of Rokki-dan to appear in the series. He wears an odd helmet that conceals most of his facial features. He uses a Naginata. Killed by Baro. *Inroku Ban A large man in hakama and armour. Armed with a flintlock pistol. *Shishiya Arashino The largest member of Rokki-dan. It is revealed that he is Dutch; as he greets Itto-ryu members with "goede'morgen," the Dutch expression for "Good morning." *Shinhei Doma A Rokki-dan member whose most distinguishing feature is his odd hairstyle; partly shaven with plaits at each side. Initiates the torture of Baro's fiancé. He wields Nunchaku and is often seen with Tareshin. *Tareshin Hasshu A long-haired Rokki-dan member who uses an odd Naginata-like weapon with three blades at the end. Often seen with Shinhei. *Shozo Murasaki A hunchbacked little man with buk-teeth who leads in the torture of a man who is revealed to be Abayama's son and later, Baro's former fiancé. *Ryo Soma The illegitimite daughter of Habaki Kagimura. She threatens Habaki with suicide in order to replace the recently-deceased Haiyabo and fight for Rokki-dan. She has also been seen working as a wood-chopper. Other Suboardinates of the government and Habaki Kagimura *Meguro One of the two shinobi that often accompany the Rokki-dan and Hebigumi on missions and carry out spy work. In love with Master Sori. She and Tanpopo are quite comedic when together and have been, quite recently, the series' main source of humour. *Tanpopo Works with Meguro, carrying out spy work and accompanying the Rokki-dan and Hebigumi on missions. Both her and Meguro are also being tutored in art by Master Sori. *Hebigumi The Hebigumi are an army of fighters that all wear the same uniform; a Noh mask, armour and hakama. *Mitake A government official that works closely with Habaki, even prepared to take Ryo under his care as his surrogate daughter when Habaki dies. Recently-named characters: *Ugen Hanabusa Government official whose odd facial features make him resemble that of a drag queen. He first appears in issue #104 but did not appear again nor was named until very recently. He later hires a small group of assassins consisting of four females, who are often shown in elaborate clothing. *Ena A kunoichi working for Hanabusa. She can be distinguished by her hairstyle; long hair tied back into two plaits. She leads the aforementioned all-female assassins as well as the other Shogunate officers he has at hand. She and two others in her group are later killed by Makie near the end of the series, after shooting at her using rifles and trying to protect Hanabusa, the two kunoichi are torn apart by Makie, while Ena is left to die impaled to the ground as. *Mizuma A kunoichi from Ena's group, also working for Hanabusa. After her group attack Meguro and Tanpopo, Ena attempts to get information out of her but fails as Meguro escapes carrying Tanpopo. Mizuma is later seen giving chase, along with three other Shogunate officers, but instead comes across Shira resting under a cliff. After some questioning, Mizuma orders the three officers to execute Shira, after she recalls Hanabusa saying he was a monstrous mistake that had no place in the government. Shira however easily kills the officers, then he severs Mizuma's right when she tries to attack him. He thanks her for the information one of her officers unintentionally gives regarding Manji's whereabouts. Mizuma meets her grisly end as Shira proceeded to rape and torture her to death, with her body, along with the officers, being found by the Rokki-dan. After Ryo covers her body with a coat, she questions Habaki regarding who was responsible for the attack. Category:Characters Category:Manga Category:Anime